The present invention relates generally to teaching methods and apparatus and, more particularly, concerns a teaching method and apparatus which permit manual responses to language queries, in order to facilitate silent language study while also allowing quasi verbal practice by a language learner. The invention also provides a manner in which to assist a speech recognizer is recognizing spoken words.
A common way of teaching foreign languages is through interaction with a computerized teaching program. Typically, interaction is carried out in the language being taught. The computer will interrogate the student verbally and, after receiving his verbal response, judge it for correctness of language usage and pronunciation. Based on the student's performance, the computer can then adapt its presentation.
An example of such a system is described in copending application Ser. No. 12/052,435 entitled “Adaptive Recall” (“the '435 application”) owned by the assignee of the present invention. The '435 application is incorporated herein by reference.
A number of problems arise in this type of teaching system. Several of such problems are addressed by the present invention. First of all, the student may be working in an environment in which audible responses may not be possible or convenient, for example, in a library, while traveling on public transportation, or in a noisy environment. In such cases, an audible response might disturb others or be masked by an environmental noise. Of course, the student could present a written response, but his involvement with correct spelling will interfere with the flow of the response, and the quality of his pronunciation is not easily tested.
Another problem that arises when a student provides a multi-word answer is that the teaching computer may have difficulty distinguishing between the utterance of an incorrect word and the mispronunciation of a correct word in a student's verbal response. Similarly, the student may run his words together in a verbal response, and the teaching computer may therefore have difficulty recognizing the words.
It is an object of the present invention to provide solutions to one or more of the foregoing problems.